BERLIN, April 9 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday he did not want U.S.-Iran war to place any further strain on relations between the United States and its European NATO partners.
“We do not want – I do not want – NATO to split. NATO is a guarantor of our security, including and above all in Europe,” he said, speaking to journalists.
He added he had encouraged U.S. President Donald Trump in a call to pursue negotiations with Iran with urgency.
Germany was resuming direct talks with Iranian leadership in Tehran, Merz said in Berlin.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Linda Pasquini; editing by Matthias Williams, Kirsti Knolle)
